Opposition lawmakers have agreed to freeze only half of this year’s indigenous submarine budget, pending a report to the legislature, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus secretary-general Lin Szu-ming (林思銘) said yesterday, pulling back on threats to freeze nearly the entire budget.
The KMT had previously decided to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.86 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget.
The party caucus said that only NT$200 million is needed for the project next year, meaning that intended uses for the remaining NT$1.8 billion requires greater scrutiny.
Photo: Reuters
However, after negotiations with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) caucus and various ministries, the opposition decided to freeze only half of the budget, Lin said yesterday morning.
The funds could be unfrozen following a report to the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, he added.
Meanwhile, Lin estimated that the legislature would be able to approve the budget within two days.
The KMT has proposed more than 400 changes, while the TPP has proposed about 100, he said.
If lawmakers are able to settle 40 proposals per hour, they would be on track to pass the budget by today, he said, adding that if not, they would convene extra meetings to make sure it is passed this legislative session.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS